[WATCH] Climate emergency requires shift to sustainable lifestyles, says minister

Climate emergency requires shift to sustainable lifestyles, says minister

Malta will launch its first ever national campaign on climate change, in an awareness-raising exercise in which environment minister Aaron Farrugia called for a tangible change in lifestyles.

Farrugia said the #ClimateOn campaign more than just a simple educational campaign but a call for change towards more sustainable lifestyles. “There is a need for tangible change towards a better quality of life for everyone... Through this campaign, we need to create a more resilient society which is better prepared and capable of adapting to the irreversible conditions brought about by climate change. This is being done through various seminars, workshops, youth programmes, and public outreach,” Farrugia said.

The campaign will inform the public and disseminate necessary information on the impacts of climate change and the role of all individuals to this end.

#ClimateOn will encourage initiatives and projects that provide solutions leading to less pollution, decrease threats to public health, and a lower impact on the environment and biodiversity loss, and actions to strengthen the economic sector.

Malta declared a climate change national emergency in 2019, despite little to suggest that the government was indeed mounting a mitigation exercise for the emergency.

“Climate change is considered to be one of the most serious global environmental crises of our time, where the world is experiencing diverse episodes of extreme weather, health risks, and economic repercussions. The government is improving its actions and increasing its ambitions to mitigate these impacts. But the government cannot do this alone: citizens, businesses, industry, and all social groups have a part to play,” he said.

Farrugia said the campaign would provide a platform to encourage the necessary change in all sectors in order to ensure that we’re all pulling the same rope.

He said this could only happen with the collective work for the transition towards clean and renewable energy and towards better consumer choices. “Collaboration with various sectors, including the public and private sector, industrial sector, and educational sector are ongoing,” he said.